Tori
by AtomicScribble
Summary: A shy little girl named Tori is in Christine's place. What will happen? Not something you'd expect to see from me! Movie based. FIN!
1. Chapter 1

**VERY IMPORTANT! **If you are expecting one of my humorous Mary Sue stories, then turn around and walk away. This is something that's NOT funny at all…

Not that it's serious or anything, but it's just…different.

When I wrote a chapter from the middle of the story to flex my ability with my original character, I found that it is some of my best work and it's very touching, much different from, say, Writer's Block or RunnerUp. Again, this is not something you'd expect me to do; there's little to no humor in it, but it's packed full of fluff. Fluff, Fluff, and more fluff. Did I mention fluff?

There will also be an M rated chapter in the middle of this. (I know, you're thinking, "12 year old writing M fiction? Woah!" The reason will be explained later.)

I know I have Writer's Block to work on, but this has been bouncing around my head for all eternity. I had to publish it! x)

**Disclaimer: For the entire story! Nothing in here is owned by me, except for Tori. Tori's name is from the singer Tori Amos, hence why Happy Phantom will be included. I don't own her or her songs, either.**

oo0o0oo

"Tori! Get ready!"

Tori snapped herself out of her daydreams and looked shyly up at Madame Giry.

"Oh…My apologies, Madame," she said in her quiet little voice.

She put herself into first position, ready to run out on to the stage with the rest of the ballet girls. They were rehearsing for "Hannibal", which would take place that night. As usual, Carlotta had been put into the lead, but the Angel of Music kept assuring her that Tori would be placed in the lead role.

Tori F. was a shy, quiet girl of 19, always in the background and never in the front. She was small, about 5'3", and had long, straight black hair that fell to her shoulders. Long, dark eyelashes covered green eyes, eyes that would look up at you innocently and make you want to kick yourself for insulting a creature so gentle. Her complexion was slightly pale, although her skin was unusually smooth and her lips were pink and full. Tori's body was perfect: she was not too thin, not too fat, and her body shape was that of an hourglass. Polite and kind, Tori was never one to insult a faulty dancer or gossip about some of the lead singers.

As she danced, she caught sight of Madame Giry talking quietly with the new managers. She heard her name being spoken and concentrated on her dancing so she would not be eavesdropping.

"Who is that small one over there?" M. Firmin asked, pointing his walking cane Tori's way.

"That is Mademoiselle Tori. I consider her to be a daughter. She was orphaned at 10."

"Does she have a surname?"

"Yes, but she prefers to keep it private. Would you kindly step to the side, please?"

The song ended and Tori stood with the other ballet rats, cheerfully discussing the new managers and the new patron, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, while the managers put up a fuss about the Opera Ghost (whom Tori did not talk about with the other girls) and tried to get Carlotta to sing for them.

"Oh, Tori, isn't he handsome?" Meg Giry whispered excitedly, as they watched Raoul walk away.

Tori watched him go, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I don't think he's too attractive," she said finally. "Simply not what I want to see in a man."

They continued talking for a while, but suddenly Tori felt her arm being tugged on.

"Tori could sing it, sir," she heard Madame Giry's voice say, as if from far away.

* * *

A/N: Is it good? Is it bad? Oh well! Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, the updates are going to get farther and farther apart because I have realized how many things I want/need to do. (Mainly) right now there are 2 wants (Good Neopets account, which requires time, and updating the stories here), 1 need (School!), and 1 more thing that I can't tell you about right now. You'll find out soon enough what it is.**

oo0o0oo

Tori pattered off-stage, a big grin splitting her face in two. She had not been this happy since…well, since before her parents died, really. She had sung her part beautifully, and now, nearly out of the wings, could still hear the wild applause of the audience.

People mobbed her on the way to her dressing room, shoving flowers in her face and asking for autographs and doing ABSOLUTELY everything besides simply move out of the way; they could barely hear Tori's quiet "Excuse me" as it was.

At least it helped that Madame Giry managed to join her halfway towards the hallway that led to her room, because once at her side, she managed to fight off the huge throng of people and got Tori to her dressing room ten times faster than if she had walked alone.

As soon as they had safely entered the silent, light blue haven, Madame Giry closed the door behind them. She put her hand on Tori's thin shoulder and complimented with a smile, "You did very well, little Tori. Very well indeed."

Looking to the side, she retrieved a rose off of the blue and pink vanity and handed it to Tori delicately.

"He is pleased with you."

Madame then left, leaving Tori to quietly contemplate the delicate rose. She felt the black satin ribbon, enjoying the feel of it on her long fingers.

Who had sent this? Had it been some admiring fan wanting, like everyone else, for her to go on a date with them or get her autograph? Or was it a secret admirer, who refused to give her anything more than a small, dark trinket to simply say, "I love you"?

Had it been her Angel…?

Just then, the door opened. Tori didn't look up, but instead sighed and wearily turned to face who it was.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Raoul, who was in an expensive suit and was smiling warmly at her, revealing pearly white teeth. In his hands was a bouquet of flowers.

"Hello there," he said, laughing a little at Tori's shocked expression and giving her the flowers.

After a moment Tori regained her composure and took the flowers. "Thank you, sir," she said quietly, smiling herself. She placed the flowers delicately on her desk, next to a dozen others.

Raoul, noticing the other flowers, frowned, but quickly smiled again as he looked back to Tori. "Would you…" He cleared his throat, a little nervous. "Would you like to go to supper with me?"

Tori was a little reluctant, seeing as she didn't admire the Vicomte too much and the Angel of Music had promised her that he would come that night, despite whether se had gotten the lead or not. But after a minute of weighing her options, she looked down at the ground and nodded slowly.

Raoul smiled once more. "Alright then, I'll ready my carriage. Supper in two minutes, Miss Tori."

He bowed and exited the room, leaving Tori to stare after him, a little amazed that she had said yes.

She turned to face her mirror and took out the little crystal veil that had been embedded deep in her hair. She then brushed her hair and headed off toward where she got dressed, grabbing a comfortable, simple, velvety dress and her flat, laced shoes along the way.

Tori could have sworn she heard distant footsteps and a voice calling her name while she put her dress on.

* * *

A/N: Muhuhaha...Tori's true self will start to emerge...next chapter! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Bwahaha! I have come to a pattern; this story will be updated every other day so I have time to work on Writer's Block! Don't feel like I'm being forced to write; it takes little time and it's very easy for me.**

oo0o0oo

She laced up her dress in the back, put on her shoes, and walked out, humming quietly to herself along the way. Tonight had been great, but tiring; she seriously needed a good sleep before rehearsal tomorrow.

She reached out to put out a candle, but it went out by itself.

_Strange._

Tori reached out for another, only to find that that one went out too. In fact, all of her candles were going out by themselves!

She felt a sudden, strange chill in the air and shivered. She had never liked the dark, not at all. Especially when it was combined with coldness. Suddenly she felt like she was being watched, like someone was going to pounce on her any moment.

Tori looked around slowly, her arms wrapped around herself. She asked in her quiet little voice:

"H-hello? Anyone out there?"

Silence greeted her, but the chill lifted slightly.

She stepped forward, toward where her mirror was. Peering into it, she saw her face, as pale as snow, and her green eyes widened in fear. Although her hair had been brushed out, it was suddenly limp again, drooping over her face, giving her a gothic, depressed look. That had always happened when she was afraid; her hair would become limp, as if sensing that its holder was in danger.

Suddenly, the mirror slid open.

Tori's eyes darted to the side, afraid to look up, and she backed up on impulse to the door, flattening herself against it.

_Don't you dare look up…_

But she did, and gasped in terror at the sight.

A masked man, clad all in black, was standing in the entrance to a long, dark hall where her mirror's reflective metal had once stood. A cape hung limply behind him, giving him the look of a vampirish bat, in Tori's view.

He started walking briskly forward, his expression unchanging. Tori whimpered and pressed herself against the door even more. She was terrified, absolutely terrified…she wasn't terrified enough for her thoughts to run awry, but enough so that her lungs pained to take in a deep breath.

He was right in front of her now. The man was about 6 feet, so he towered over Tori.

She made a small, frightened noise and turned her head to the side, closing her eyes, as if trying to escape the horror of it all, trying to convince herself that it was a nightmare, only a nightmare, that she was really just taking a quick nap a few hours before the show.

Everything fell silent (was there really any noise at all, or had it been the blood in her ears?) and Tori risked peeping out of one eye.

She saw a black gloved hand in front of her.

Tori opened her eyes fully to stare at the hand, a little bit of curiosity mingling with her fear. Did he want her to come with him down that long and gloomy passageway? No torch at all?

But Tori seemed to trust him a little bit, however frightening he was. He gave her a little sense of security, and didn't mean any harm; that was obvious.

She looked up into his eyes, trying to see the answer, and saw compassion mixed with gentleness in his gaze. It was as if he wanted to say "Come with me, I won't do anything to you", but his eyes said it for him.

Her brain screamed to run, but her hands and feet thought differently. She took the gloved hand in front of her.

* * *

A/N: Yay for freaked out Tori! She is so much cuter that way, as if she were a giant, squishy teddy. 

:D


	4. Chapter 4

**Man, am I getting backed up…oh well. Here's an update anyway!**

oo0o0oo

_Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap…_

_Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…_

The sound of Tori's quick little steps mixed with the brisk tapping of the mysterious man's shoes as they walked down the passageway together without a torch, Tori holding on to the man's hand like a small girl with her parents.

She looked about, and noticed that there were many smaller doors leading off of the passageway, which didn't seem like it would end very soon.

_Where is he taking me?_

Her brain snapped back to reality. She was going somewhere with a stranger, someone she didn't even know! She was going to an unknown place with an unknown person!

Suddenly, everything went black; all sources of light were blocked off. They must have turned a corner.

Tori whimpered quietly, but the man held her close and put a hand gently over her mouth. A voice whispered in her ear, "Shh, I'm going to light a torch. Stay calm, you only have to walk for a little longer."

The hand released itself from her mouth and he let go of her hand. Tori looked about blindly in the dark for some hint of where the man had gone, but her question was soon answered. A torch flared up a few feet in front of her, and the man was now standing in front of a long, winding staircase.

Tori looked up at him shyly and took his hand again.

As they walked down the staircase together, she noticed that this was the first time she got to get a good look at him.

Her eyes were not fooling her about the mask; that lay over the right side of his face, white porcelain glimmering in the torchlight. (HIS right, remember that.) She was also right about his wearing all black with a black cape, and his hair slicked back. What she didn't get a good look at was the visible side of his face.

He was actually quite handsome. His face was clean shaven, and his eyes were a deep blue-green. A small smile was on his face; Tori couldn't place the origin of it. Overall, it was perfect, even with the mask covering the other half of it.

She looked backwards and found that they were three quarters of the way down. A sigh escaped her lips.

The man looked back at her curiously, the smile widening a bit. Tori's eyes widened at the sight of him looking at her and she moved her eyes down to study her steps, trying as hard as she could not to look back up at him.

Eventually they reached the bottom of the staircase, walked a few steps, and turned a corner, where a black horse stood waiting.

_He's probably going to ride it-_

Her thoughts were proved wrong when she walked over to the side of the horse and the man stood behind her and helped her up onto it. Tori sat on the horse as it began to walk, the man holding the reins at she side and guiding it along as he walked. Although Tori had taken horseback riding lessons, she simply positioned herself comfortably on the horse and allowed it to be guided.

"Are you comfortable?"

She looked down at the man, who was gazing at her, an expression of concern on his face.

Tori looked ahead, then back at him and nodded. All of the descent, the frightened look she had worn in her dressing room was on, but it lightened a bit with every step.

The man smiled warmly at her, and looked forward again.

There was silence between them again as they reached the edge of a lake, where a boat tied to a pole bobbed lightly in the dark water, waiting for them.

The stranger helped her into the boat and then grabbed a pole, which was leaning on the wall, untied the boat, and pushed it forward.

Tori's thoughts stirred again as she watched the water move along.

_Someone said something of an underground lake…this man and I went down a staircase, so we must have moved down floors…the horse's path was on an angle...yes, we are certainly underneath the Opera House now. Doesn't the Phantom of the Opera live down here, underneath the first floor? No, Tori, no, the Phantom is just a silly little myth, he doesn't exist. _

_He was described as wearing a mask and all black…that's what the man behind me is wearing._

The conclusion hit her like a stone thrown by a boy. She whirled around to face the man, even more frightened then when she had first seen him.

She opened her mouth to comment, but her words ran dry. Tori had just noticed that they had hit shore.

* * *

A/N: Aah. Another bracket snapped today…on an M&M! I hate braces, they break on the most normal things, and your dentist thinks you've been chewing gum or something! Then you get this lecture from your parents about not sneaking and such, and they don't think you're telling the truth when you are. 

Gotta be more careful next time…


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter was so hard to write, seeing as I write more carefully when I do fluff…**

**Don't ask, that's just me. –shrugs-**

oo0o0oo

Without either of them saying anything, the Phantom helped Tori out of the boat.

She watched and waited quietly, hands clasped in front of her, as he took off his cape (Tori now saw clearly that it was more of a cloak) and walked up stairs engraved in the stone.

-Do I need to describe his home? No? I'll just assume that most know it…-

He faced his organ and stared at it for a long time, his eyes taking in the numerous sheets of music strewn anywhere and everywhere. Tori watched him, a curious expression on her face as she strained to see what was going on.

After a few minutes, the man turned around, only to find Tori craning her neck to see what he had been doing.

She reacted immediately and looked down, starting to tremble a little with fright and embarrassment.

The Phantom, a smile twitching on his face, watched her curiously. _Why is she so nervous? I've never seen her like this before. Shy, yes, but not frightened!_

"Hmmm…Tori?"

She barely looked up, trying as hard as she could not to meet his eyes. Tori nodded a little, showing that she had heard him.

The Phantom nodded toward his organ. "We never had that lesson of yours."

Tori nearly toppled over. THIS was her Angel? He was so dark! Yet she remembered that twinge of comfort she had felt when she had seen his hand stretched out in front of her, she remembered how gentle he was with her, as if she was an expensive, rare glass doll…yes, she remembered now, and came to the conclusion that this was, indeed, the mysterious voice that had taught her for 3 years solid; every other night, for hours on end.

Realizing how cramped she was, Tori rolled her shoulders a little and silently walked toward the stairs, still not meeting his eyes. He was quite the opposite, though; he watched her every step.

As she stood next to the organ and the Phantom sat down, he studied her once more.

"Do say something, Tori. I tire of your silence; I want to hear your voice!"

Tori finally met his eyes. She pursed her lips, and then mumbled very quietly, "This is your home, right?"

His trained ears picked up the murmur clearly, and he replied, "For tonight, it is yours as well."

He placed his hand on hers, and Tori jumped a bit, then relaxed. "M-mine?"

"Yours, yes…"

They stood staring at each other for a very long time.

**Erik's thoughts**

Quiet, quiet…always silence with this girl. Why is she so timid? Poor thing…she can hardly speak, let alone look at me.

Why should she? She's afraid, and I shouldn't force her into liking me. Let's wait; she's bound to become more at ease one of these days.

**Tori's thoughts**

-mumble mumble "So nervous…" mumble murmur-

**Normal**

Tori broke the silence just barely. "Our…"

The Phantom snapped back to attention. "Oh, right! Yes…let's warm up…"

-X-x-X-

He peeped around the curtain, cloak in hand. He was careful not to wake her up as he crept around the side of the bed and knelt down.

Tori lay curled up in the satin sheets, hugging a pillow for dear life and breathing evenly.

He marveled at how innocent she looked…and was.

After the lesson, Tori glanced at a nearby clock and noticed that it was nine. Although the other ballet rats teased her because of it, Tori went to bed at around eight, since she tended not to sleep very well and if she got half an hour to little or too much, she would be sluggish , tired, and more prone to not paying attention during the day. Madame Giry noticed this very easily and dismissed her from rehearsal early so that she could sleep.

"Sir," she had asked in her small voice, "I normally go to bed at eight, and it is now nine o' clock."

Surprised but ready to let her go and rest, he had shown her to her room. They bid good night to each other, and he had closed the curtain. Tori's fragile and tired body seemed to notice how comfortable the bed was, for she had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep immediately.

Now Erik (I am now calling him by his name. You got a problem with that? xD) stood over the bed, watching her with his head tilted to one side.

Remembering his cloak, he gently lifted up her hand and put the cloak under it.

Surprisingly, Tori hugged the cloak to her body and snuggled into it like a little kid with their blanket, breathing contently. A smile that showed a strong sense of security stole over her face.

Erik grinned as he stood up.

_So she still remembers her angel…but does she know who I really am?_

* * *

A/N: Otay! You are going to see a name change VERY soon… 

That's right, I'm changing my penname due to an incredible burst of inspiration for naming things! Yay!

Don't be surprised if it looks like someone plagiarized my stories; that's me, don't worry!

(Question: If I change my penname, will it still show my stories as by "Stitch", or will it change to my new screename?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks, Mouse! I feel more comfy now.**

**:D**

oo0o0oo

Tori woke up to find herself curled up with a long, black piece of fabric. Upon closer inspection, she recognized it as the Phantom's cloak.

_He must have given it to me while I slept…and that was the best sleep I've had in years._

Sitting up, she took a second to gather her thoughts. She had performed in Carlotta's place and was well received by the public. Everyone had loved her!

Raoul had invited her to dinner.

She smacked herself on the head. Raoul! She was normally very obedient and polite, and she had steered Raoul into thinking that she was a liar!

_Oh well…it's passed now. One night can't make ALL the difference._

A mysterious man, clad all in black, and had whisked her away to his underground home. He was the Phantom and her angel; Tori had put them together quite easily.

He had given her a lesson, and let her go to bed…Now here she was, in a bed with a cloak and a black curtain shut in front of her.

After looking around, she found a rope and pulled it, already knowing what would happen. The curtain was pulled up, and she found herself facing the Phantom's home on the lake, the man in question with his back to her, facing his organ and playing music like a madman.

She lied on her stomach and rested her head on the front of the bed, which was shaped like a swan's head, and put her hands underneath her chin.

Tori studied him silently and enjoyed the music. It was unlike anything she had heard before. It spoke of love, of hatred, of pain…blurring together in a wild mixture and filling her head.

Suddenly the music ceased, and Tori watched the Phantom scribble something down on a piece of parchment. He read through what he had so far, and then slammed his hand down on the side of the organ.

"DAMN IT!"

Tori jumped, seeing as she wasn't used to so much fury, especially from a person who had been very gentle with her. It seemed like he had a violent side that equaled his nice one.

She waited a bit for him to start playing the song again, but instead he switched to a different piece. This one was quieter, and it was a song that she recognized as the one they had used in their lesson. Perhaps he had picked it on purpose?

A few minutes passed. Deciding that the time was right, Tori grabbed the cloak, got out of bed slowly, and walked down the steps leading from the room, walking over to the organ.

Tori paused behind Erik for a moment, then, reluctantly, tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around. Tori backed up a step, realizing how close they were, then swallowed and held out the cloak.

"I woke up with this next to me. I…"

She cleared her throat, which was suddenly dry. Her voice cracked a little.

"I, um, slept very well with it, actually."

Erik took the cloak in his hands and placed it on the organ. "That's no problem at all."

Once again Tori felt that incredible rush of security, this time mingled with a strong liking. Did she really like him, however afraid of him she was? That was strange, very strange...very out of character for someone like her.

But she had good reason: he was her guardian and was sweet, perhaps even loving towards her.

Erik turned around again to simply glance at his music. Tori found herself moving, and she sat on the organ bench with him. Startled, he turned his head to look at her, and found her studying her hands, placed in her lap.

"Will you play me something?" she asked, not looking up. She trembled for a second, partly because of the cold, and partly because she didn't want to anger him.

After a second or two, music greeted her ears, soft music, and she felt his eyes on her. She turned to meet them.

They connected just a little more during that moment.

* * *

A/N: NO, it's nothing, er…jumping-aheady. You know Tori, come on! Crazy people. xP 


	7. Chapter 7

**Pshh. My new penname pwns yours. xD**

**I've been feeling sick for a while now (I didn't go to school today), but I already wrote the first two paragraphs after a math test…**

oo0o0oo

The moment was a long one. Despite their eyes being locked together, Erik kept playing the tune, not even glancing down once to check that he was playing the right notes. He knew he was.

Tori, on the other hand, was struggling to keep her head up. Those eyes! They bore straight into her soul, searched her deepest thoughts…she suddenly felt as if she were transparent.

Erik finished the song, still staring at Tori. Tori's breathing quickened. He noticed the change and slowly put his arms around her.

Tori stiffened, seeing as she was easily frightened (A/N: -pokes Victor VD-), especially around this dark, maybe even deadly stranger that she knew only by his voice. And that wasn't exactly a ton of information.

Tori didn't move, but Erik still held her close.

**Erik's thoughts**

She doesn't switch over easily, does she? She's still afraid of me, even though she's ALWAYS listened to my voice. She stiffened as soon as I touched her, yet I've always seen her hug her friends without a second thought. I count as her friend…right?

**Tori's thoughts**

He's holding me! We've known each other in person for a night, but now he's holding me like we've been married to each other for years. I've known him as the voice, yes, but…there's still that weird feeling of safety. (WHY do I always think about how safe people make me feel?)

Oh well. Voice is good enough.

**Normal**

Tori squirmed a little to pry her hands out from between them. Erik, fearing that she didn't want to even be near him, released her, but a second was all she needed to move her hands. She pulled him back into the embrace, and Erik sighed mentally with relief.

They held each other for a little while, Tori's breathing starting to slow.

Finally Erik broke the embrace. Hiding his feelings of surprise and intense happiness, he nodded his head up to the ceiling.

"We need you to go back above ground. Everyone must be having heart attacks, what with you…"

"Down here?" Tori rolled her shoulders again, a common sign of when she was tense. A little bit of a smile escaped.

"I'll come back down, I assure you."

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A/N: It's short, but very, very fluffleh…

-looks at calendar and counts down days until Corpse Bride DVD release for the millionth time-


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! I got a PSP! Um…yay!**

oo0o0oo

Erik took Tori back up to the surface. Neither said a word, but many glances were shot back and forth.

As soon as Tori stepped out from behind the mirror, she took a look around her room. It was the same as it had always been: just as blue, just as neat. No one seemed to be around.

She pursed her lips for a second and turned around to say goodbye to Erik, but the mirror had slid shut and was now functioning normally.

In other words, he had gone.

She sighed, but turned from the mirror and sat down on a nearby chair. As soon as her behind touched it, the door flew open and Madame Giry and Meg came rushing in.

Tori jumped in surprise.

"Oh! Good morning…"

Madame Giry put a hand over her heart and steadied herself on the vanity. "Good heavens you're safe, Tori! No one knew where you were!"

"We were worried sick!" squeaked Meg.

Tori pursed her lips again, deciding to stay silent about everything that had happened last night. She didn't feel as if they needed to know.

Something dawned on Madame Giry, and she told Meg, "Go to rehearsal. I need to talk to Tori alone." Meg looked for a second as if she was going to disobey, but then she sighed and left without another word.

As soon as the door was closed, Madame Giry turned to face Tori. Right off the bat, she asked:

"Did he take you down to his home?"

Tori tilted her head a little and furrowed her brows, clearly not understanding what she meant.

Madame Giry repeated, "Did HE take you down to HIS HOME?" This time she put an emphasis on these three words, and finally Tori understood.

She nodded a little.

Madame Giry exhaled; whether it was out of relief or annoyance, Tori had no clue.

She put her hand on Tori's shoulder. "Do not worry, little one. You're in good hands."

With that she left, leaving Tori to mull over her words. But instead of thinking, she got up and walked over to the mirror. She tried to pry it open, not even thinking about what she was doing.

It was shut solidly.

_Might as well go to rehearsal, seeing as there's nothing else to do. Besides, there's an opera tonight._

----------------

A/N: Yes, yes, it's short. Don't worry, the next two (or maybe three) chapters will hold more words and flufflehness!


	9. Chapter 9

**Um…I haven't been able to update because first I was too lazy, but then I went on a skiing trip this weekend, and…-Authoress rambles on until Victor comes in and whacks a bucket on her head-**

oo0o0oo

Tori plastered a smile on her face, acting as the lovable little pageboy as Carlotta squawked on. Oh, sure, she hated being stuffed into frilly little clothes and being totally silent, but she was too polite to let everyone know otherwise.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted a little bit of movement in the rafters, but ignored it. But she began to see more and more, and anxiety boiled in her stomach. Higher it rose, until Tori felt fit to burst.

_Not my idea of fun-_

"Psst!" Carlotta poked her harshly in the side. "Move more, you sitting duck!"

An undistinguished mumble brushed past Tori's ears. She rolled her shoulders and flexed her hands, the anxiety whipping around. Remembering her practices and obeying Carlotta's command (which she didn't do often), she performed her scheduled blocking.

She didn't even notice the black figure on the ceiling until it spoke.

"Did I not instruct (pause for suspense) that Box 5 was to be kept empty?"

That did it. Tori flew offstage, tearing off the frillier parts of her costume but staying decent, ignoring the cries of the cast to come back and the confused murmurs of the audience. After looking around frantically, she found the stairs leading up into the rafters and took them two at a time.

The black figure had already left his place atop the balcony.

(A/N: -cue "Barracuda" by Heart-)

Tori tiptoed around, now in totally different territory than she was used to. She knew she was on the bottom level; there was nothing to stop her from falling off and cracking her skull on the wooden stage some ways below.

Looking up, she saw Buquet, the stagehand, walking about nervously, looking about for something that wasn't there.

Down below, Carlotta's voice failed, and the ballet was put on. Chaos was reigning on stage as the crew changed scenes and at the same time searched in vain for Tori. It was like a chain of bad events, falling like dominoes on top of each other.

Tori kept running.

She came to a wall, where a couple of ropes dangled in front of her.

"Dead end."

She took two ropes and, using the wall as a foothold, climbed up to the next level of rafters, where she kept running.

----------------

Unknown to her, Buquet was also running, and he was only a level above her.

----------------

The wood creaked, but Tori ignored the sound. She looked up worriedly to Buquet. Although she didn't like him very much, she cared about everyone in the Opera House, even Carlotta.

Ascending level after level, she came to a hallway, which would lead to a line of rafters slightly above the ones she had come from. She ran through the hallway, noting all of the doors leading in and out of it. She wiped an X out of the dust next to the door that led to the roof.

It was one dark and gloomy hallway, she had to admit.

She turned the corner and climbed the rising floor, starting to pant. Tori had no idea what she was looking for, yet she knew.

She came to the door and yanked it open in a rush.

_OH MY GOOD GOD!_

----------------

He stepped back and dropped the rope, smirking at the startled screams that erupted from below. Buquet deserved to die; he was just too shifty. Now for the biggest question: where in the world was-

He turned around, and the smirk disappeared.

_Found her._

Tori stood there with her mouth gaping open in shock. Her eyes started to water, and her breathing quickened.

"Tori, I…"

She whimpered, tears forming in her eyes, and shook her head, starting to back away.

He took a step forward, a hand outstretched.

She turned and ran.

-----------------

Victor: I knocked Amanda unconscious. o.0

So, yeah…she is one happy little girl because she got her Corpse Bride DVD and, she says, can watch me all the time now.

I blame her friend for convincing her that she is my wife…


	10. Chapter 10

**She's still unconscious…-Victor**

oo0o0oo

Tori ran to the entrance to the stairs, crying all the way. Any hope of security with him had been shattered; after all, she had just seen him kill a man! And with his bare hands, too!

She zoomed up the stairs, burst through the door, ran to the other edge, and collapsed on the ground, letting the tears go. The sobs were loud and choking, loud enough so that she didn't hear the door push open a little more. (Tori had left it open in her rush.)

A few more steps, and Erik was above her. He felt an enormous need to comfort her, but he doubted that she would let him even touch her hand. For this reason, he felt extremely awkward.

Erik let her cry for a little while longer, then he asked hesitantly:

"Tori…?"

She whirled around to face him, her tearstained face turning angry, then nervous, then fearful as she noticed the lasso, still sitting in his hands.

He followed her gaze, and it dawned on him that she thought he was going to kill her too. (-pokes Barkis-) With what was clearly meant to be a careless gesture, he tossed the rope aside, letting it fall peleriously close to the edge.

Tori looked up slowly from the discarded lasso up into his eyes, and saw the same mixture of feelings in his gaze as when they had first met, although this time, there was sadness in there, too.

She breathed deeply for a moment, and then turned away, staring out at the lights of Paris. Erik knelt down next to her and turned her face gently toward his.

The full fledged apology that he had thrown together on his way up the stairs dissolved immediately, and he could only manage to choke, "I'm sorry."

Tori gently pulled free of his grasp and stared at the ground, tears still falling from her eyes. Then she looked back up at him.

"It's fine."

"I don't believe you."

She sighed and stood, resting on the edge of the roof. Erik stood as well, but kept a little bit of a distance between her and him. She looked back up at him, tears starting to well in her eyes again.

"Please believe me."

He simply looked down at the ground, sighed, and started to leave. His better judgment told him to leave her alone until things settled down. It sounded quite stupid, but he had a good feeling that time would work out the tension.

Tori, on the other hand, ran up to him.

"Wait…"

He turned to face her, and she backed up again. The last thing she wanted to do was make him unhappy. _I think I already failed._

"Where are you going?"

He shrugged, again trying to seem as if it were unimportant, but his eyes still held hopelessness. "Home."

Erik started to walk away again, but at the door, he was stopped by Tori's voice.

"I'll go with you."

He whirled around to face her, shocked.

"Tori, you don't need to-"

She shook her head. "Three months. At least until the masquerade ball. I think we need…"

She swallowed and looked down. "A little more time together," she whispered.

"Don't cry again!" Erik ran over and swept her up in his arms without even thinking. Unlike before, she welcomed the gesture and rested her head on his chest.

"Besides…" She managed to grin. "I said I would come back."

-------------------

A/N: -shoves Victor out of the way-

I regained consciousness, yay!

Anyways, this is where all the good stuff comes up! Plus, I don't need to write the next chapter, because I already did it. That's my sample writing that I'll put in here.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: OH MY GOOD GOLLY GOSH TWO CHAPTERS IN A ROW! XO

So…sample writing. Enjoy.

oo0o0oo

Tori quietly sat on a chair, doodling on a piece of parchment. It was her first day temporarily living in Erik's home, the first day of three months. He had gone out shopping to fetch extra supplies and goodness knew what else.

She looked at the watch in her dress pocket and sighed. Three minutes to one. Where was he? By now she was quite famished, and the pain of hunger was increasing; she usually ate lunch at 11:00.

Tori went back to her parchment, where she was drawing a picture of a creature she had created, one that looked like an unusual grey, black, and white cat that was always unhappy. _How very much like me, _she thought.

After about 10 minutes, she heard the swish of water, and, after a couple more seconds, the soft _clunk _of the gondola hitting the shore, although she did not look up.

Erik stepped off and went the back way to Tori's room, where he dropped off an enormous amount of boxes and such. He then took a secret passageway that probably led to a storage room, where he put the rest of the packages.

He closed the door carefully behind him and looked over to Tori. He sighed.

_She's such a nice girl, but so terribly frightened of me. Why did she agree to live with me in the first place?_

Erik walked over hesitantly to where Tori sat and looked down at her parchment.

_A cat. That's quite normal. Such a gorgeous picture, however…she does indeed have real talent besides music…_

Tori, noticing the presence, stopped drawing and, starting to tremble gently (it had now become an odd habit of hers), looked slowly up to Erik. Their eyes met.

Erik cleared his throat. "What are you drawing?"

Tori looked down to her drawing again. "This is a kind of creature I invented," she said quietly, pointing at the cat. "I was going to draw something else, but then you came back." She looked up once more to Erik, as if waiting for his approval of the picture.

Erik nodded. "Your drawings are quite nice."

"Thank you."

The rest of the day was quiet between the two of them. After eating lunch, the two went off on their own, with Erik writing music and Tori drawing and writing poems and short stories.

**Erik's thoughts**

She is everything a man could ever want or need. No wonder the Vicomte is courting her…

No! Do not think of him! He is trying to steal her away from you!

(Looks around to Tori, who is sitting in her room, writing)

Writing something…what? A journal, maybe? No, there should be many more papers with that one. I have seen her room, and it's quite organized; she wouldn't have the papers separate, and her journal is more like a small, pink book.

Maybe she is writing a story or a poem? More likely.

She is indeed a strange little thing, so quiet and creative.

But beautiful. Her voice is beautiful, her face is beautiful, her body is beautiful.

Why hasn't she mentioned my mask?...

**Tori's thoughts**

Perfect. The villain has been captured, and Sally is back with her family again.

(Reads over her work)

It's good, but the villain is so much like…

I don't know his name! I must ask one of these days. If I am to live with the Opera Ghost, I must learn more about him.

Why does he wear that mask? What lies behind it? If it is just for show, I think he should have it off when he's near me.

He doesn't need to have it on to impress me. I'd rather he had it off.

But it would be rude to simply tear it off of his face. I shall ask him.

**Normal**

Around dusk, Tori walked timidly up to where Erik sat, her head bowed slightly.

"Good sir, I've realized that I do not know your name."

Erik turned around slowly to where Tori stood, about 5 feet away from him, shifting her weight from foot to foot uneasily.

His face turned hard. "Erik," he replied coldly, turning back to the organ.

_That was a bit unkind. She's so helpless; she simply asked you your name._

When he realized that Tori was still standing there, he turned to face her again, his expression softer.

"Do you need something, Tori?"

Tori started to tremble slightly violently. She took a small step towards the organ, looking down at her shoes.

"W-well, I-I-I…was wondering if…you c-could…take your m-m-m-mask off?"

She nearly regretted the words as they fell out of her mouth, and she blushed a deep shade of scarlet as she looked up at Erik.

His expression was unreadable for a few seconds, then he became slightly angry.

"No. This mask will always stay on."

Tori ceased her trembling a little bit.

"But Erik, is it just for show? The side of your face I can see," she nodded her head toward the part of his face that was not covered by the mask, "Seems quite handsome. Is the other side any different?"

Erik was at a loss for words. She thought it was for show! She did not have any idea what lay behind the mask! In fact, she thought that the rest of his face was as…

_Did she say that I'm handsome?_

That was what caused his mouth to become dry. No one had ever said he was handsome, seeing as they only paid attention to the part of his face that was unmasked. No one had ever said he looked nice, or even that he was talented, creative, or clever…well, the managers had said he was clever, but in a very sarcastic way.

"May I take it off?"

Erik was snapped out of his thoughts by Tori, who was now looking straight into his eyes curiously, almost pleading.

He closed his eyes and shook his head no, sighing.

"Oh. Alright. That's all I wanted to ask."

With that, Tori walked quietly away, leaving Erik to stare after her, still dazed.

oo0o0oo

Tori carefully walked up to Erik, taking care to be quiet. It was a last resort, and it was impolite, but she honestly wanted to know what lay covered by that white strip of porcelain.

She silently said a quick prayer, and then ripped off his mask.

Immediately she was thrown to the ground, where she hit the stone hard.

Erik stood furiously above her, the part of his face normally covered by the mask now covered by his hand.

Tori began trembling as violently as ever, shielding herself slightly with her arms. As much as she wanted to look away from Erik's angry face, her eyes remained glued to his.

When Erik spoke, his voice was a yell of fury.

"Didn't I tell you no? Twice I told you no, yet you still rip off my mask! Ungrateful little girl, you don't listen when things are told to you, even when they are repeated!"

But he was quickly cut off as a single tear rolled down Tori's cheek, and she fainted.

-------------------

A/N: Hey, it had to happen sooner or later. xD


	12. Chapter 12

**I like lemonade. o.0**

oo0o0oo

Tori seemed to bury herself in the sheets when she finally awoke and realized what had happened. HOW was she going to build trust between them again, how?

It was funny, that little voice in the back of her head. She could only hear it before she did something, telling her if it was right or not, and then she would hear it afterwards, gloating and I-told-you-so-ing in her ear. Not once in her lifetime did she hear it during what she was doing, however quick it might be.

Tori climbed over to the edge of the bed and seemed to hide herself in the covers. She looked about frantically, trying to find wherever Erik had gone.

Then she noticed a little note on her bedside table. She reached over and opened it.

Written simply were the words:

_Out haunting._

Tori sighed silently. You'd think that he would stay with her, but no, he was always out and about, maybe even more frequently than usual. Was he trying to get away from her?

She nearly laughed out loud. _I've got about as much chance of harming him as an apple._

But it was seriously possible. When she was humiliated, she always wanted to escape, and she'd usually play in her little secluded spot in her backyard, or hole herself up in her room. Anything to get away from the person she disliked most at the moment, or all of humanity for that matter.

It was a natural reaction of the human brain that millions of years of evolution had programmed in.

She flicked a glance at the clock. It was 7 pm, on the nose. She'd slept for THAT long? She knew that she couldn't have been out cold for more than a day or two; a calendar that she'd brought with her told her she was right; it was a day after she had, well…

The real question was: when would Erik be back?

As if to reply, she heard the normal swishing of water. Quickly she climbed back into bed, pulled the covers up to her neck, and pretended to be asleep.

A clunk, then footsteps. Toward her room.

They stopped a few inches from her shoulders, then she felt a hand glide down her cheek. Silently she savored the touch, seeing as there was such sparse contact between them.

A few indistinguishable murmurs greeted her ears before the footsteps walked away, and she heard some music being played on the pipe organ. Tori suddenly remembered what day it was tomorrow.

_Should I tell him?_

She smirked as she snuggled back into the pillows.

_I'll tell him the second I wake up._

----------------

A/N: Nyah. I put a cliffhanger.

I watched Corpse Bride with my friend Caroline, and she kept laughing when I pointed out that both Barkis' chin and Mrs. Everglot's hair looked like a butt. xD

We kept repeating that famous line from Finding Nemo: "I'm gonna go touch the butt!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, LISTEN FREAKIN' CAREFULLY! For Lent this year (I'm Catholic), I have decided to sacrifice using my computer for all 40 days. –sniffle- It'll be a challenge, but I survived sacrificing chocolate, didn't I?**

**So mark it on your calendars: APRIL 16! Yeah, I know, it's a while, but suck it up and read some other fics if you're bored. xP **

**Note: I won't return to writing immediately; Lent won't have a point that way. I'll draw it out, so just keep checking after Easter.**

**_EDIT OF DOOM: I switched from entirely computer to just Neopets now, due to schoolwork. And stuff. _**

oo0o0oo

Tori pattered up to Erik, hands behind her back. Erik, who was now quite used to this, turned around to face her.

He looked her up and down curiously. "What is the matter? You are up quite earlier than usual."

Tori let a tiny smile play onto her lips. "Well, Erik, today is my birthday."

To her surprise, Erik leapt up suddenly, causing her to step back in confusion. "Of course, how could I have forgotten! Go back to sleep; I'll wake you up in a moment."

Tori, not wanting to disobey him, quickly went back to her room and got into the bed. She watched him fuss about for a moment, then turned to her side and finally fell asleep.

"Wake up, my dear Tori! Wake up, you silly girl, open your eyes!"

She awoke suddenly to find Erik standing above her. She bolted upright, looking around. Everything was…exactly the same.

Erik seemed to read her thoughts, because he then held out a small, black, velvety box, grinning. "I've gotten you a present."

Now, Tori had always been reluctant to receive presents. Maybe it was because of her toddler days, when her brother had given her a box which exploded with paper snakes as soon as she opened it; she had nightmares and cried for the rest of the week. Maybe it was because she would much rather give than receive. Maybe it was because she didn't want people spending their money or making a big deal because of her.

Maybe it was simply because the Phantom of the Opera was giving her the present, rather than Meg or Madame Giry or Raoul.

She eyed the box nervously, then, hesitantly, took it and opened it.

She gasped. Inside was a gorgeous diamond necklace, with the diamonds hanging off of a gold chain and the largest diamond in the center. It must have cost Erik a fortune, it's so expensive! This necklace is probably the most expensive in Paris! Not only that, but all of France!

Tori stuttered, "Oh...Lord…I don't know what to say."

But after a moment or two of staring at the necklace, she did something unexpected for a girl like her: she gave a great shout of happiness and smothered Erik with a hug, tears of joy streaming out of her eyes.

"This is the first present I have gotten in so long! THANK YOU! I adore it to pieces! Thank you so very much, Erik! You are the most thoughtful person in all of France and…"

Erik wriggled from under her grasp. "Tori, you are suffocating me," he said with a small laugh.

She let go, her eyes still shining with joyful tears. She took one last look at the necklace, then closed the box carefully and gave it to Erik. "Put it in a good place. I shall wear it another day."

He nodded and took the box, taking care to tuck it safely into a hidden drawer in Tori's vanity.

Erik sat back by the bed and studied Tori closely. She seemed to be deep in thought about something, but what? It seemed to be troubling her.

"Do you not like it?"

Tori looked back up at him, back to her quiet, shy self. "It's not that, but…It's always been my custom to give a present back to someone on my birthday because they gave me one.

Erik shook his head. "Nonsense. This is your birthday, not mine. You do what you like."

"But it's MY birthday, and I want to give you a gift, Erik."

"Is that what you've been thinking about? What gift to give me?"

Tori nodded, and the two fell into silence.

After about 15 minutes, she said simply, "Take off your mask."

Erik's head snapped up. "What?"

"Take off your mask, please." Her eyes pleaded with his, which turned stone cold.

"Tori, I've said it many times: no."

She started trembling again. "But…why not?"

Erik sighed. "I would rather you not see what's behind my mask…You would become even more frightened of me and then you would run away."

Tori looked down. "I promise not to be. Whatever is under there, I won't run away from you."

Erik narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust you."

"How could you not trust me? I've been living with you for a month now and I believe you can trust me enough." She was slightly terrified of the sudden cold look that lay in his eyes and remained etched on his face.

Erik was quiet, then he whispered, "Do you promise me, Tori?"

Tori contemplated her options. He was really putting up a fight about what was behind that mask. If he was so reluctant to take it off, it must cover something best kept hidden; it must really be terrible, not just something HE thought was terrible.

Was it really worth covering?

Tori nodded. "I do," she replied, a little hesitant.

Erik started to reach up to take the mask off, but Tori stopped him.

"No, no, let me do it."

She held out one hand and touched the mask gently, then looked into his eyes, asking him silently if it was okay.

He nodded, and she took the mask off slowly, so as not to startle him.


	14. Chapter 14

**THANK YOU! I can update again! Damn the Doc. Manager…**

oo0o0oo

Tori squeaked, but that was all. She had finally pried the mask off.

She gently took his face in her hands, and…

And…

…

…

…and…

-is prolonging suspense just to annoy you-

Alright, enough. Here.

She gently took his face in her hands and turned his head gently to one side, then to the other, examining his face from all different angles. She made a sound in her throat, the kind that moms use when they are examining a bad scrape that their kid got on their knee.

"Nnn…"

Erik said nothing, but a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes for a second.

Finally Tori let go and placed her hands gently on her lap, studying his face intently. Erik looked down shyly, this time being the one who didn't want to meet the other's gaze.

"Now you know…"

The heaviest silence that had been between them so far spread over them, not letting up for a full five minutes. He became uncomfortable and finally wracked up the courage to look back up. His eyes widened.

Tori's eyes were shining with tears, a welcoming kindness in her eyes. She swept him up in a hug, letting a few tears fall loose.

"Erik, I'm sorry! I had no idea! I don't think it's that bad, really, but it's something worth hiding!"

She let out a sigh, pulled out of the hug, and kissed Erik gently on the cheek. Yeah, the disfigured one.

"There. That's your present."

"But how did you…"

The next words were cut off as the reality of what had happened in the last second hit him. Joy spread through him, and he couldn't suppress a smile.

He stood up and put his mask back on. Before Tori could object, he let out a laugh and walked toward the clothes he used for going out of his home.

"You want a good gift? Fine. I'll give you one. Get a dress on and follow me."

-------------

A/N: THERE'S NO KNOWING WHERE THEY'RE GOING! AND I'M NOT TELLING! MUHUHAHA!

Okay, I need to turn the caps lock off now. You'll see next chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hehe. NOW you get to find out the secretiest secret in all of secretdom! Well, not really…**

oo0o0oo

"Just a while longer."

Erik was leading her through a cramped passage that Tori had never seen before and, if he hadn't shown her it, would never have discovered it at all. She was wearing a light blue dress, her favorite color. (If you haven't noticed. xP) The necklace that she had received as a gift hung around her neck, and glittered beautifully in the light that was coming from the little windows in the walls.

"Here."

Erik stopped suddenly in front of her, and she nearly walked into him. The door had no knob, and showed no signs of any on the other side. It looked like a solid, boarded up wall.

He felt around it, pressing at various spots on the door, until he seemed to come across the right one. He flashed a grin at her, and shoved the door open.

It was…the rafters.

"That's it?" Tori asked as she came out of the passage, rubbing her sore back and stretching her limbs.

"Not quite. Keep going, but be quiet."

Not being one to disobey, Tori followed behind him, being as quiet as she could. They went up the rafters until they reached another passageway, which was thankfully bigger than the last.

Erik opened another door at the end of the hallway, and let Tori step through first. She gasped at the sight.

They were on a small part of the roof, but this one was higher up than the main section. From here, she could see a little past Paris and into the countryside, even spotting the glimmering lights of another city. She hadn't realized how long she had slept; the sun was setting, casting shades of purple, pink, and red across the sky. When Tori looked up, she saw that the very top was the deepest shade of blue, some stars already emerging.

It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen in her life.

Erik closed the door and walked up to her. She looked up at him, a surprised and totally shocked look on her face.

He grinned. "Happy birthday."

Tori embraced him happily. After a few minutes, she asked, "Can anyone see us up here?"

Erik shook his head.

Tori reached up and took his mask off. She snuggled into his arms.

"I like you better that way."


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the wait…but here it is! What you see before you is written ENTIRELY at school, from study to drama class to random other classes. Very good expression of talent, writing at school is.**

oo0o0oo

Tori and Erik grew extremely close together for the next week. Their lessons continued, and soon Tori found herself getting frequent praise from Erik. He claimed that she would be finished soon.

Tori went from saying little to having long conversations about the most random topics with Erik. Many times they explored the Opera House together, and occasionally they just snuggled together in silence, simply enjoying each other's company.

They were boyfriend and girlfriend, and they were very happy together.

The same could not be said, however, for the surface.

"Has anyone seen Tori?" Meg asked, feeling nervous. She hadn't seen her for weeks and was now starting to worry.

Each of the managers shook their heads, worried as well. Tori was the main income of money for them, and missing prima donnas mean money lost.

Raoul, though, stood in thought. The last time he had seen her, she had been in the performance of Il Muto, and she had run off the stage in a hurry, seemingly frightened by something. The last time he had had a proper conversation with her, it had been during practice, and she had seemed distracted by something. Could this have anything to do with the Opera Ghost? After all, it had been when he had spoken during Il Muto that she had run out.

"Vicomte! What are your thoughts on Miss Tori?"

He turned to find everyone looking toward him hopefully. Raoul cleared his throat and said, "It's one month until the ball on New Year's. Let's wait until then."

There were many protests, but the managers eagerly agreed.

Madame Giry smiled to herself. She knew Tori was safe.

-------------------

A/N: It's pretty short, yeah. But this took up a page and a quarter since I was scribbling on a piece of looseleaf and I was using the back.

I wanted to go farther, but something told me that I couldn't push it any farther for this chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

**-sighs-**

**Well...it seems that I have deleted MS Word. I have to use WordPad now, which is utter garbage.**

**Oh well...**

oo0o0oo

Erik leaned over Tori, who was sitting in a chair and staring into space, and gave her a hug around the neck, restng his head on her shoulder. She looked at him sideways, grinning.

"What is it?"

He sighed gently. "Tori, I have to let you go for a short time."

"Why?"

He let go, running a hand through his hair. "Well, there's only a few weeks before the Masquerade, and you need a costume. You should celebrate Christmas with your loved ones, as well..."

"But Erik? She turned to face him, a little ounce of innocence in her eyes for effect. "Can you promise me something?"

He raised an eyebrow, but his eyes were intrigued. "Go on..."

"Will you go with me to the Masquerade?"

His heart skipped a beat, but he had no idea why. He had been very close to Tori for the last two months now, and he would have expected it. But, like her reaction to his face and her transition from being shy to being chattery, it was completely unexpected and always took him by surprise whenever he thought about it.

After a minute he gulped and nodded.

"Erik, are you frightened?"

He shook his head a little too frantically. "No! No, of course not. It's not that, it's just a little..." He inhaled and exhaled deeply.

Tori's face lit up with understanding. "Ah, I see."

They sat in silence until they remembered the task set before them, and Erik took her back to the surface.

At the mirror, Erik embraced her quickly before letting her out. A few steps form the mirror, Tori turned around, walked back over, removed his mask, and planted a kiss on the deformity before replacing the porcelain.

"I love you, my Phantom."

-----------------

A/N: You can't blame me for that teensy bit of fluff, can ya?


	18. Chapter 18

**'Tis the masquerade, prepare for fluff! Just a note...I'm starting to wrap up Writer's Block, so the updates here might be postponed as I write the wicked long final scenes.**

oo0o0oo

Tori shifted in her outfit as she waited by her mirror. It was New Year's Eve and she was waiting for Erik to escort her to the masquerade.

She was dressed as a sort of doll. Her skin was covered in pale base and her cheeks were unusually rosy. She had put makeup on it a way that made her look like she was made of porcelain, and not of human skin. A white, sparkly mask was on her face. Her dress was long and ruffly; it was white ringed with blue with a silk top and a poofy bottom. The dress had a little cleavage, but not too much. She wore no gloves, but painted her nails a shade of pink, to make her seem like a child. Part of her hair was put up in the back, and the rest flowed down her shoulders on either side. Her eyes glistened with excitement as she thought about what would happen at the masquerade.

The mirror slid open, and Tori turned to face it. She gasped slightly.

A skull mask stared back at her. Erik wore a suit of deepest crimson, which was tinged with gold in some places. A sword was in its holster on his belt, and on closer inspection, Tori saw that the hilt was a skull itself. His black boots shined, and a matching red and gold cape completed the imposing look. His own blue eyes lit up when she saw Tori's costume.

"A doll." He grinned. "Beautiful."

Tori was snapped out of her dazed state.

"You look...elegant," she stammered, reverting back to her old shyness for a bit as she smiled up at him.

He laughed. "Well then." He held out his arm and Tori took it. "Let's go."

They walked down through the nearly empty hallways toward the center of commotion, near the main entrance hall. They could hear music and laughter as they walked down the marble hallway leading toward the party. Both exchanged glances, then stepped out onto the top of one of the mini-staircases.

The music ceased immediately, and everyone gasped in fright as they gazed upon the odd couple. Many started murmuring as they recognized just who the porcelain doll was on the arm of the Red Death. The murmuring faded out and they simply gazed in stunned silence.

Raoul caught Tori's eyes and a questioning expression came on his face as he gazed upon her. The curiousness turned to slight anger as he turned his gaze to Erik.

Erik gave Tori's arm a slight squeeze and they walked down the staircase together, everyone's eyes following every movement. Finally they reached the main platform, and Erik finally spoke.

"Good evening to you all! I'm sure you have all missed me!"

He frowned as everyone murmured a little bit again.

"What it it? Can I come with my own lady like you people, or do I have to stay in the shadows all the time?" He laughed, this one filled with bitterness. "Start up the music again! I'm simply a guest here, and nothing more."

After another short silence, the music started again, and Erik led Tori out into the middle of the floor. He took her hand in his, encircled his arm around her waist, and they started dancing. Reluctantly, everyone started again, too, and the fun seeped back into the party, like nothing had happened. Some were careful to keep their gaze on the Opera Ghost, though.

As they danced, Erik's eyes held Tori's, a warmness mixed with excitement brewing in the icy blue depths. The same was held in Tori's emerald gaze, but a sense of security was in there as well. Both grinned at each other as he dipped her low, a small giggle escaping Tori's red lips. He brought her back up and twirled her, lifting her up into the air. His touch became light and a flicker of fear rose in Tori's eyes, but he brought her back down and whispered in her ear, "Do you really think I'd harm you?" She responded by nuzzling his lower jaw lightly.

The music slowed down, and this time Erik held her in closely, both of them gently swaying to the music. Tori scooted near him, and rested her head gently on his chest as they kept dancing.

Gently he sung her name as he rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. Tori smiled as she felt the cool porcelain of his mask touch her head. She could hear his breathing in her ears and could feel the warmth of his body against hers, and it made her happier than ever. Time seemed to slow down for both of them as Tori closed her eyes. Suddenly it seemed like they were the only people in the world, the gold and white costumes of the other dancers blending until they were simply part of the backround.

All too soon the music sped up again, and they began dancing with the others, laughing as if they were careless guests to the Opera House, and not residents of it instead. The party whirled on feverishly and, once it was over and all of the drunken dancers headed home, Erik took Tori back to her dressing room. Both took their masks off, breathing heavily. They had danced the entire night, and only just now realized how exhausted they were. After planting a small kiss on her cheek, Erik said, "I'm going to leave you be for a while, simply to see how you do without me. You may come down to my home at any time, however, and just call my name if you need anything."

With that he gave her a small squeeze before disappearing with the swish of his cloak.

Tori grinned after him, then changed into her nightclothes. She washed the heavy makeup off and let her hair loose, then climbed into bed, falling asleep quickly with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, a man sat angrily in his carrige, plotting revenge. If Tori didn't want him, then he would resort to desperate measures.

--------------

A/N: OMG. What's Raoul gonna do?

And yes, I had to bring Raoul back into the story. He's going to play an important role, as you'll soon see.

-wink-


	19. Chapter 19

**It's just a short burst, but big things come in small packages!**

oo0o0oo

Erik put on his mask and cape, preparing to go haunting. Since the entire Opera House and then some had seen him a few nights ago, he thought that it would be fitting to go out. Besides, it was a perfect night and-

His thoughts were broken by someone sobbing. They called out his name, their voice ragged. He turned to see Tori leaning against the metal gate, her face stained with tears. Startled, he walked into the lake, not caring if he was getting his pants wet, and pressed a secret lever. The gate rose, and Tori fell into his arms, crying.

He held her out at arm's length to get a better look at her. She was wearing man's clothes, and her shirt was open, exposing some of her chest. It was slashed and she was bleeding in various places there and on her face; there were also fresh bruises on her arms and face. Her hair was ragged and her eyes were bloodshot, but they were filled with fear. Not only that, but she was sobbing, stopping only to hack out some blood.

Erik was suddenly fearful himself.

"What is it, Tori? What happened to you?"

She took a rattling breath and tried to speak through her tears.

"Raoul...he...he..."

She started hyperventalating. Erik reached out to calm her down, needing her to be quiet so she could talk, but Tori pushed his hand away. He asked, more frantically, "What did the Vicomte do to you?"

"He...he..."

"Calm down, Tori! What did he do?"

Her bottom lip quivered as she looked up into his eyes.

"...raped me."

-------------

A/N: o.o;;

Wow.

Flashback to the rape scene is next; I'm going to rate that part M just in case.


	20. Chapter 20: Rated M

**OMG. Rape scene. **

**It'll be none too graphic, I assure you, just some violence and, well...raping. (No actual sex) I've rated it M just in case and you don't have to read it if you don't want to, but it'll add a little bit to Tori's character.**

oo0o0oo

_Tori sat in front of her mirror, brushing her hair. She felt completely at ease: rehearsals had gone well that day, but she had seen nothing of the Vicomte at all, or even heard anything from him. Just where was he nowadays? She hadn't seen him since the masquerade, and even then he had looked confused and slightly angry..._

_She heard the door fly open and, in the dim light, saw someone stagger in. She turned, squinting in the sparse candlelight, trying to see who it was, but she couldn't make out any details. The person approached, paused, and then grabbed her forcefully by the wrists. She squeaked, taken by surprise. The person dug their nails into her wrists, and she head them speak, their words slurred. It was a man's voice_

_"Miss Tori. Prima Donna, who ran off with Monsieur Le Fantome and left me to SIT." On the word "sit", he dug his nails into her wrists even more. Tori bit her tongue in pain, willing herself not to cry out. The man yanked her off her chair, dragged her to the floor, and threw her down. He leaned over her, and Tori got a glimpse of his face in a nearby candle._

_It was Raoul._

_He was smiling wickedly._

_And he was drunk._

_"Vicomte? What are you doing?" Tori stuttered, watching in horror as he unbuttoned his shirt._

_"Getting more comfortable. If I can't win fair, I'll just have to cheat!" Raoul took her hands and forced them above her head. He took out a piece of rope and tied her hands together as tightly as he could, then knelt down on Tori's legs, making sure that she was pinned underneath._

_Now he went for her dress, undoing the front. When he got to the point where he couldn't go any farther, he ripped the fabric clean down the middle. Tori gasped._

_"Raoul! That's my favorite dress!"_

_"Shut up!" He slapped her hard across the face, then scratched her as hard as he could. Tears welled in Tori's eyes as she tried to get free, to feel the wound, but she knew something was wrong. Something warm was trickling down into her cheek and into her mouth. Tasting it, she knew at once that it was her own blood._

_Raoul laughed cruelly as he watched her struggle, now ripping the top of her dress down and reaching the gown she wore underneath. He started to undo that as well, letting Tori whimper and cry out. _

_"No one is going to hear you, you slut. Scream all you like."_

_Soon the gown was down by her waist as well. Only a corset could hide her now._

_"Raoul, stop! Please!" Tori was begging now, though she knew it was useless. Before Raoul could slap her again, she kicked as hard as she could. He fell off of her, and she struggled to rise to her feet. By the time she got there, though, Raoul had drawn his sword. He grabbed her from behind and yanked down the corset painfully. Tori gasped and cried._

_Raoul forced her to the ground and beat her absolutely senseless. He slashed at her bare chest, leaving bleeding marks there. He did her face as well, narroly missing her eye. Next he simply punched her in the face, and Tori could have sworn she heard her nose snap a little. She was too much in pain to actually feel it, spots swimming in front of her eyes, her tears mingling with the blood and painting the new bruises._

_Raoul brught her back up again and held his sword at her thrat while he pulled away the rest of her garments. Now she was completely bare, and he forced her back down to the ground, her head hitting the ground with a thud. The spots in front of her eyes increased more._

_"Perfect. Let's see how beautiful you really are."_

_As Raoul raped her, Tori screamed for the first time in her life. She had never been one for screaming, seeing how quiet she normally was, but this time seemed approapriate. She was too frightened to notice how strange her scream sounded, like metal being scraped on a chalkboard. Tori hoped desperately that Erik would hear her, but then she saw something horrible._

_Raoul was undoing his pants._

_She took the opportunity to kick him where it hurt. Raoul gasped in pain and his hands flew to the spot. He raised his hands to smack her harder than ever, but Tori, emboldened by her newfound anger, pushed herself up with a nearby desk. Using those ballet lessons, she kicked as high as she could, hitting Raoul upside the door._

_"Why, you little bitch!"_

_Raoul came after her, but Tori grabbed a nearby vase as best she could and sent it crashing onto Raoul's head._

_Now, normally, he would have only been fazed by it, but Raoul was so incredibly drunk that he passed out immediately, his head hitting the floor hard. Tori, afraid that she had killed him, however much she hated him right now, checked for a pulse and found one. Breathing heavily, she used the sharp edge of her mirror and cut the rope binding her hands, still crying._

_Looking around frantically, she found a man's shirt and some pants lying out on a nearby table. She grabbed some underwear from her dresser drawer and put the clothes on, not bothering to do up the shirt much farther than a few buttons._

_She then ran, sobbing loudly now, to the only place she could: she ripped open the mirror and ran down the dark hallway._


	21. Chapter 21

**Ladeeda.**

oo0o0oo

Erik stared at her for a long time after she finished her story, breathing heavily. They were now on the shores of the lake, where Tori stood in his grasp, shivering.

Finally he let out a cry of anguish and waded into the lake, his hands flying to a long piece of rope under his belt.

"I'LL KILL HIM! HE'S DEAD! I'LL KILL HIM!"

Tori let out a short scream as she sunk to the floor. Her world was now falling apart: all the people that she cared for and trusted were now turning against her, taking little bits and pieces of her until there was nothing left.

"No, Erik! No! Promise me you won't kill again!"

He turned to her, a frighteningly angry expression on his face. "Tori, he hurt you! He went way past the line! I HAVE to kill him!"

"No you don't!"

His expression softened as he saw Tori on the ground, crying. She started hyperventilating and tried, without success, to regain herself.

"Tori, please!"

But she shook her head and stood shakily. After giving Erik a (very weak) glare of mistrust, she staggered off to her room, where she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

---------------

She woke up at around 7 the next morning, lying on her left side. The first thing she heard were footsteps approaching her bed, then she saw Erik sit down on her bed, unmasked and in simpler clothing. The tearstains on his face showed that he had been crying.

"Tori, I-"

Disregarding the signs that he had been hurt as well, Tori gave him another glare, stronger this time, and turned over onto her right side.

She took a deep breath and said, her voice ragged, "You killed him, didn't you?"

Erik put his face in his hands. "No. He's alive."

"How do you know that?"

"...I looked."

Tori faced him again, her eyes wide with anger. "I knew it! You were going to kill him-"

"I. Wasn't."

He reached out a hand for her, and Tori shrank from his touch, fear flickering in her eyes.

"Tori, listen!"

She turned back over onto her right side, glaring at the wall made of rock.

"I would never hurt you. You're very precious to me. I...love you, and I hope that I can help you get over what has happened."

She grunted, still staring at the wall, though her eyes were filling with tears.

"Please, Tori, trust me."

He reached out a hand and, after a moment's hesitation, put it gently on her shoulder. Tori stiffened noticably at his touch and gently pushed his hand away, now crying silently.

"Look at me."

Tori turned on command, and Erik's eyes watered a little bit as he saw the tears running down Tori's face. Reaching out, he wiped the tears from her cheeks. She didn't shrink back or push his hand away, but let him wipe the tears away.

"Tori, don't cry..."

She pursed her lips. "Why not?"

Erik sighed and turned his back to her. "Because you'll make me cry as well."


	22. Chapter 22

**PREPARE FOR FLUFF!**

**FLUFF, FLUFF, FLUFF!**

**I need to stop speaking in caps now...**

**Random person: Get on with it!**

oo0o0oo

Things never were the same after that fateful night, although very slowly and delicately, their connection was establishing again. Occasionally Tori would ask Erik to play something for her, or Erik would ask her to sing. Neither ventured outside of the house on the lake for a long time, sticking to their own sides of the house and generally giving each other space.

But every night they would talk together. At first, the conversations were a mere one or two sentences but, as Tori became more comfortable with herself, she began to tell Erik the stories of her childhood or what it was like being amongst the ballet rats 24/7. They laughed and joked about the rumors of the Opera Ghost, but Erik mostly listened, and only commented on Tori's stories. He never let loose anything of his own, feeling that it would overwhelm Tori more and cause her to go farther away from him. Or would she get even closer? The question subconsiously bounced around in his head, while his waking mind listened intently and digested Tori's stories.

The stories switched from being only at night before Tori would go to bed to anytime during the day. Erik added little sounds sometimes to her stories, and this made them grow closer together, alhough there was still little to no physical contact between them besides pats on the shoulder or things like that.

Finally, one day, Tori got to the topic of how her parents died.

"I was only ten years old, they...really didn't deserve to go like that...they both caught a disease that...had no cure and...they..."

She stopped to wipe tears from her eyes, sobbing a little. Erik's eyes widened, his mind racing furiously for something to make her stop crying. He quickly found a solution, being the genius that he was, and proposed it.

"Tori, would you like to go on a trip?"

Tori looked up from the ground, her eyes alighting a little.

"To where?"

"To your parents' graves. Certainly that'll make you feel better?"

--------------

Tori paid the driver as she hastily got her cloak on. She was at the stables of the Opera House, a bunch of roses in her hands and her black dress on. Erik promised her that he would accompany her as he got his white mask on and his traditional evening clothes and cloak on.

Walking outside to where the carriage lay waiting, she barely registered the blacked out driver, cold air, and gloomy feel of the outside. She dimly noted that it had been months since she had been outside the Opera House.

She sat down and told the driver to go to her parents' graves. The horses started along at a trot, and Tori shifted to make herself comfortable.

A familiar voice pierced the cold air.

"Are you comfortable?"

Tori shook her head, trying to clear it. Erik had said the exact same thing when he first took her down to his home; truly she must be imagining it? But no, the voice repeated itself again, and she knew for sure that she was not imagining it. She looked up to find the driver peeking at her through his long black cloak.

She jumped a little, squeaking.

"Erik?"

Erik turned back to the horses, laughing a little.

"Yes, it is me."

"Wh-what about the original driver?"

"I knocked him unconsious. But don't worry," he added hastily as Tori opened her mouth to speak, "It was simply a hit to the head. He should come to in about half an hour."

Tori shut her mouth again, and they sat in silence as they left the streets of Paris and continued on through the rural countryside. Finally Tori spoke.

"Are you sure this is the way? It's not how I remember it."

"It's a shortcut."

"I see..."

Erik gave her another sideways glance, and Tori caught one corner of his mouth, curved up into a smile. "It's very cold out, isn't it? It's been a very long time since I was out of the Opera House."

Tori giggled a little. "The same goes for me as well."

Again, another silence fell, but this time it wasn't as awkward. It was a polite silence, one that was used for Erik and Tori to recollect their thoughts. Finally the carriage halted outside the entrance to a cemetery. As Tori climbed off, Erik explained that he would put the horses somewhere safe and then join her. With that he snapped the reins, and the horses drew the carriage around the corner.

A snake of trust slithered into Tori's mind as she headed down the main pathway through the graveyard. She knew him well enough that he wouldn't leave her here, out in the cold, surrounded by the dead. He wasn't THAT heartless: in fact, Tori doubted that he was heartless at all.

On her way to the back of the graveyard, where her parents' graves were, Tori read the names on the tombstones, using the names as landmarks to find her way back and also to find her way there. The last time she had visited her parents' graves was when she was fifteen years old: five years after her parents' died, and five years ago.

_That adds up to ten, which is how old I was when they died, _Tori mused.

Suddenly the specialness of this visit hit her. Everything added up perfectly, she was practically the girlfriend of the Phantom of the Opera, and she had been...you know. _Exposed _is a better word for it.

As she approached her parents' grave, Tori stopped to stare at the tree on which she had carved something in memory of them.

_Let the angels weep for me._

"Well said," Tori muttered, tears coming to her eyes at the thought of how miserable she'd been. Miserable enough to bang her head on the same tree five times after she had inscripted the words, one time for every year of feeling out of place and alone. She spotted the few drops of blood that she had shed on the word "angel", brown with age. Out of tradition and for the sake of it, Tori tapped her head five times gently on the same place, being careful not to put any more blood stains on there or give herself a headache.

Afterwards, Tori turned to her parents' graves and cleared the last few steps near them so that she could stare at the graves. They were of considerable size, the caskets encased in a stone box. Tori sat on the step next to them, examining every little detail of the stone.

She heard a little swish of fabric, and Erik sat down next to her, examining the graves.

"Hello Erik..." Tori looked at him, some sadness in her eyes. "So...here they are."

Wordlessly Erik gathered her up, covering her up with his cloak and holding her close to his body for warmth. Tori snuggled next to him, no longer flinching or retaliating. The trust had returned, stronger that ever.

The realization dawned on her.

_I really do love him. I love him more than anything. I'd go thorugh the hottest fires of Hell and back just for Erik._

Tori removed his mask and set it on the grave. They stared intensely at each other, Erik's eyes searching her face. Some fear passed in his eyes.

"Erik...you know I love you."

"You...do?"

Tori nodded, and their faces moved closer to each other, the fear in Erik's eyes replaced by anticipation. Finally their lips met.

It was absolute magic for both of them. Tori felt like she was flying, Erik feeling like he just might explode with happiness. His arm snaked up her back and entangled itself in her hair, and Tori's arm gently held his head so that he wouldn't pull away too soon. Erik pulled her closer and the kiss intensified just a little more. To this day, neither can recall how long they stood there, kissing each other for real for the first time. Sure, there had always been light kisses on each others' cheeks, but those were nothing compared to this moment. For a brief, fleeting second, Tori actually considered putting her toungue in his mouth, but discarded the idea, feeling that neither of them were ready for that yet.

Finally they broke off for air, Erik gasping a little. He gazed at her long and hard, total and complete love and adoration filling his eyes, along with a fire that Tori had never seen before. Her eyes were filled with the same emotions, although they weren't as intense as the feelings that Erik was feeling right now. He yanked her closer, squeezing her firmly, as if she would disappear if he let go. He relaxed his hold as he rested his head on hers and started to whisper softly into her ear.

"Tori, my opera is finished. I shall give it to the managers and let them perform it, with you in the leading role."

Tori kissed his cheek. "When will it be put on?"

"In a week. That should give you plenty of time to rehearse."

They looked at each other and smiled. Erik kissed Tori again for a shorter time than before, then stood up, bringing Tori to her feet as well. "Now let's go. I don't want you catching cold."

Tori laughed and hugged him, then started heading back for the carriage. Erik lingered a bit, watching her go, then turned to Tori's parents' graves.

"My best wishes to both of you. I will take good care of your daughter."

With that he turned and followed Tori swiftly through the graveyard, catching up with her about halfway down the path.


	23. Chapter 23

**-snores-**

**I...don't have any use for this space. Carry on.**

oo0o0oo

Tori adorned her space in center stage, singing her lines as written. She was fully decked out in costume, seeing as this was the last rehearsal before the show tonight.

Erik had finally announced that her voice was perfect, that there was no more use for their lessons. She had learned everything she needed to learn, and both tearfully remembered what her first lesson had been like.

Meanwhile, the managers hadn't put up a fight at all about the opera; they knew the Opera Ghost well, and his liking for Tori. The leading role was a no-brainer: Tori had outdone Carlotta by a mile. She always looked at Tori with such utter loathing Tori was afraid she might collapse under it.

Seeing as there was no alternative, Piangi was Don Juan. Well, crap. There's nothing better than being felt up by this fat guy who looks like some Audio-Animatronics figure at Disney on stage in front of what must be thousands of people. Tori found it exceedingly hard to remain passionate about it when 1) She was nervous, and 2) Oh, COME ON. Piangi is disgusting.

Tori knew that Erik was always watching. He would always give a sign that he was there: something small falling behind the stage, a creaking sound in the rafters. Occasionally, when no one was looking, Tori would see him up above her, smiling and sometimes mouthing a few tips. After all, it was HIS opera, HIS vison. He had created the characters, so he knew what should happen.

After rehearsal, everyone was dismissed to their dressing rooms to get ready and rest up. As soon as she was turning the corner to the hallway off stage, Raoul caught up to her, smiling warmly.

"Hello, Miss Tori."

Seeing who it was, Tori shot him a glare before heading back down the hallway.

Raoul followed, confused. "What? Aren't you glad to see me?"

She took a shaky breath, her voice filled with mock politeness. "You nearly raped me, Raoul."

"I did no such thing!"

"Of course, you can't remember. You were drunk, hmm?"

"I-"

She rounded on him, eyes alight with rage. "Sir, if you know better, I am engaged and happy. YOU should be out of the picture by now."

He frowned, his eyes pleading now. "But I love you..."

"No, you don't. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prepare for tonight's opera."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, full of confidence that he would finally leave her alone.

He did, but there was one problem...

Turning another corner, she found herself face to face with the managers, their own smiles reflecting in the generous light.

"Miss Tori," Andre began, taking a deep breath, the smile still remaining, "We have a plan to catch the Opera Ghost."

Tori's mouth fell open. "I'm sorry?"

Firmin chimed in, "We are arranging gunmen at various parts of the theater, for if you sing, he will certainly attend."

Tori shook her head.

"No, you can't do that-"

Andre patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, nonsense! We'll have that troublesome apparition caught in no time!"

"Wait!"

But it was no use. The managers passed her, each throwing her a smile as they walked by. Tori stood there, dumbly gaping in the hallway. Finally she shook her head to clear it and headed to her dressing room to talk with Erik.

As she closed the door, she heard his voice on the other side of the mirror.

"My dear, you look pale. Is something wrong?"

She nodded and sat down, her eyes watering a little.

"They're going to get rid of you."

"How?"

She choked a little and made the sign of a gun shooting.

There was silence. Then:

"Don't worry. I've got an idea."

Tori heard his footsteps leaving the mirror.


	24. Chapter 24

**Wow...people really believed I was going away...**

**-dodges rotten tomatoes- It was a JOKE!**

oo0o0oo

_This sleeve is going to drive me mad. I love the dress...I just wish that it wasn't so loose._

She pushed up the sleeve one last time and made her way onto the stage, her smile creeping on as she reminded herself that Erik had told her that he would be alright, that she would be alright as well. Her smile faltered just barely when she counted about twenty five gunsmen in the audience, though.

"No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy...no dreams within her heart but dreams of love..."

Now she sat on the stage, barely registering the voices behind her. Quietly she waited for her cue to look behind her.

"You have come here...in pursuit of your deepest urge..."

She furrowed her brows. _That's not Piangi's voice...in fact, that sounds like..._

"In pursuit of that wish, which until now has been silent...silent..."

She turned around to see a man in the Don Juan outfit, looking much taller and thinner...and not Piangi. The blue eyes gave her a gentle, barely noticable wink as he headed up to the front of the stage.

_Erik!_

"I have brought you that our passions may fuse and merge-"

Her green eyes followed him silently, not disguising the surprise in them. Just HOW did he slip into Piangi's place unnoticed?

"-in your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me...now you are here with me, no second thoughts, you've decided...decided..."

Tori smiled a bit at the smirk that had crept onto his face. There was something slightly predatorial in the way he moved, but it was in a good way. It showed that he was playing with her head and held power over her, but still cared for her deeply. As she stood up, she looked up at him seductively through her eyelashes, ready to trust him, not really acting anymore.

"Past the point of no return...no backward glances! Our games of make believe are at an end!"

He was approaching her the way he should, but he kept some definitive grace in his step, something that Piangi's waddle could never master.

"Past the point of if or when...no use resisting!"

He was crossing in front of her now, and Tori started to breathe a little more heavily than normal.

"Abandon thought and let the dream descend..."

...she didn't expect this.

He finally lunged in for her, taking her from behind and keeping steady hold on her neck. Tori gasped as she closed her eyes and let her mind slip away a little.

"What raging fire shall flood the soul? What drenched desire unlocks its door?"

His hands released her and slid down her right arm. He held her hands close to him mouth like he was going to kiss them, but instead he whipsered on the surface, his hot breath brushing the surface of Tori's pale skin.

"What sweet seduction lies before us...?"

He straightened and led her out into the middle of the stage, singing as he went. The compassion was in his eyes, stronger than before, the blue orbs hinting that he still respected her, but he was in charge now and that she had already had her turn.

"Past the point of no return...the final threshold...what warm, unspoken secrets will we learn?"

As he released her hand and wrapped up his part, he smiled slightly at her.

"Beyond the point of no return..."

Tori let out her breath (which she had been unconsiously holding), took in a fresh one, and started singing.

"You have brought me to the moment where words run dry...to that moment when speech disappears into silence...silence..."

She forced herself to keep her eyes away from his, as she had been directed to.

"I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why...in my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent..."

With relief she turned slowly to him and gazed straight back, her eyes glimmering a little with excitement.

"Now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I've decided...decided..."

As Erik inhaled and exhaled deeply, both exchanged a fleeting smile before Tori started in again, both heading toward seperate staircases.

"Past the point of no return...no going back now! Our passion play has now at last begun! Past all thought of right or wrong..."

She stopped and leaned over the staircase as she sung her next line directly toward him. Erik stopped as well, keeping his eyes on her.

"One final question! How long are we to wait before we're one?"

She continued up the staircase, Erik following suit on his.

"When will the blood begin to race? The sleeping bud burst into bloom?"

Both finally reached the top of the catwalk.

"When will the flames at last consume us...?"

With one graceful movement, Erik flung off his Don Juan cape and hung it on the rail behind him. His voice mixed with hers as they continued toward each other.

"Past the point of no return...the final threshold!"

They met each other, and Erik winked at her before twirling her around to hold her from behind.

"The bridge is crossed! So stand and watch it burn! We've passed the point of no return..."

Now they just stood there as the orchestra kept playing slowly and softly, enjoying each other's presence. As Tori rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes closed and her heart filled with bliss, Erik whispered gently into her ear:

"Good job, my angel. Now you are officially finished with your lessons."

He stroked her hair and neck gently to make her stay calm, keeping his eyes out for the gunmen. He noted smugly that they weren't making any moves; they were simply staring, dumfounded, at the two on the stage. Most of the audience members seemed a little blanked out, and Raoul was craning his head this way and that from where he sat in Box Five (Although automatically annoyed, Erik mentally shrugged it off, seeing as he was on stage anyway.), looking for any mistake, any sign of weakness in Tori so that he could give the signal to fire.

Look at that, he found it.

Tori started to breathe more frantically, starting to tremble. The embrace had struck a chord in her, and as she struggled to keep her cool, her mind broke out in mass hysteria. Memories of that night which she would rather forget pummeled her, and she started to sweat, leaning back into Erik with nervousness. Finally she pushed him away, holding her hands to her ears as if trying to blot out a loud noise and screwing her eyes shut.

Erik, nervous and a little frightened, reached out reluctantly for her. "Tori...?"

"I'm sorry Erik, I don't know-"

But Raoul was already up and out of his seat. He yelled triumphantly:

"He hurt her! The monster has hurt her! Come, men, we must protect our little prima donna...OPEN FIRE!"

On cue, all of the gunmen moved to better places, took aim, and fired. Gunshots filled the air, and Erik watched with horror as they repeatedly made close calls, coming closer and closer to him. He made a signal for Tori to duck...

A bullet found its mark. He fell, whacking his head hard on the wood of the catwalk.

Faintly he registered Tori's scream. Through a sea of red he saw her waving her arms, and the gunshots ceased. The cries of the audience did not, however, and she bent over him, kneeling to his level. He could hardly hear her words.

"Erik! Erik! Tell me you're alright! Oh God, please tell me you're fine!"

Tears fell onto his mask: her tears. He groaned and shifted a little.

As blackness slowly took over, he heard Tori screaming.

"MADAME! MADAME!"


	25. Chapter 25

**Because people think Erik is dead...I have posted a new chappie! It's short...**

oo0o0oo

There was silence...silence...

Silence to overpower him. He needed music...

He heard steady breathing next to him. He wanted to move, but everything hurt...especially his chest. It was full of blinding pain, and he could feel a wet washcloth pressed to it, along with several other pieces of dry cloth.

Suddenly he smelt vanilla and soap, feeling arms wrap around his neck and take care not to touch his chest. Finally he could hear her voice.

"...so glad you're awake, I thought you died despite what the doctor said, but here you are, awake and breathing..."

He tried to pick up an arm, but pain shot through it, and he moaned quietly. Erik tried to open his eyes, but it seemed like too much work. The arms released him.

He heard something being lifted off a table. A hand lifted up his head, and he felt his lips being pressed to a glass. Cool liquid flowed down his parched throat, and he swallowed with difficulty.

"There, that should help...really Erik, does it hurt? Are you warm...perhaps hungry?"

He shifted a little, trying to get more comfortable, but judging by the increased amount of pain from movement, that was about as comfortable as he was going to get. With pain, he barely shook his head no.

"Are you thirsty?"

Again he shook his head. Even the very small amount of water was enough for him.

After a few moments, Erik opened his eyes a little. His vision swam for a moment, then cleared.

Tori was sitting in a chair not far from him, a glass of water and a jug next to her on a small table. The walls were made from a familiar type of rock, and he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that he was lying on blood red sheets, his limbs swathed in blankets. His shirt was opened fully, and a wound under his heart was covered in bandages, little spots of blood here and there.. Everything else ached, his head throbbing the most painfully.

Tori, noticing that his eyes were open, reached over and pulled the blankets down a little more, exposing more of his chest. Cool air flowed over the remaining skin, and he shivered.

She felt his forehead. "Your head feels fine. Do you want to know what's going on?"

He made a small motion with his head.

She sighed and smiled gently at Erik. "Alright. It turns out that the bullet missed your heart and didn't go deep, but it was enough blood and pain to leave you unconsious for a few days. The doctor said that you would be immobile for a few days, but that you would be alright. Yes, you are in your house, in my bed, seeing as it was the closest and most comfortable. Now, about your opera...we had to stop it after you passed out. Everything was hysterical for a moment, everyone being ushered out by the managers. They seemed to have changed sides a little too quickly, once they saw that I cared for you." She smiled again. "Carlotta is also going to be taking my place until you are well enough so that I don't have to stay by your side constantly."

His eyes widened.

"Don't worry, it's alright, really...they'll put me back in the leading roles as soon as I return. Unfortunately, while you are immobile, you cannot play any music..."

He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a gasping noise and the words:

"Will you sing?"

It was barely a mumble, but Tori heard the words clearly. She smiled slyly.

"Not until I'm finished with something."

"How long...?"

"By tomorrow. Now sleep." She leaned down and kissed the right side of his forehead, where he noticed that the mask had been removed. He croaked again:

"Mask..."

She hugged him. "I just removed it, for your comfort. Now take my word, and sleep."

As if her words had triggered something, exhaustion overcame him again and he closed his eyes. Erik felt warm lips being pressed to his skin again before he fell into the endless void of sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

**Only four more days in school before it's out for spring break...**

**Now then...on with it!**

**(Note: I'm perfectly aware that Judy Garland was born in, like, the 60's, but I don't have the patience to change it. Just substitute it for your own person.)**

oo0o0oo

The days passed slowly for both of them. Erik regained his strength over time, just as the doctor had predicted. By the third day, he could get up and pace around the room, but only briefly. His bandages were off the next day, but there was still a scar where the bullet had pierced his skin. As he lay down on the bed, he watched with jealous but awestruck eyes as Tori worked away at something on the organ. Sometimes he would hear snippets of whatever it was that she was working on, but they were very brief and quiet, so that he had to strain his ears to the fullest extent to hear.

When she was not at the organ, Tori was in a chair by his side, the two talking together or Erik sleeping while Tori kept watch over him. It was clear that she was losing sleep over him; her eyes were slightly rimmed with bags and her skin was paler than ever. She did sleep still, though: first only a few hours, then soon very deeply as Erik recovered. After a week and a half Erik could finally walk around without having to stay in bed all day. Tori wouldn't let him near his organ until her stuff was cleared out, but even then Erik found that he couldn't play. He had musician's block for numerous reasons, but the main reason was this question: What was Tori doing, and why wouldn't she let him see?

Finally Tori called him to the organ, a relieved smile on her face. He walked over, one eyebrow raised slightly.

She blushed a deep red, her shyness getting the better of her.

"Erik, I...wrote a song for you..."

He brightened at the thought of hearing her sing. "I had no idea you could play."

"I learned when I was very young, but stopped at eight."

He gestured to the piece. "Start."

She took a deep breath, flexed her fingers, and positioned them over the keys. She looked at Erik, and he nodded eagerly.

Tori started to play out a cheerful tune, but in the lower register. After a brief intro, she started to sing.

_And if I die today I'll be the happy phantom  
And I'll go chasin' the nuns out in the yard  
And I'll run naked through the streets without my mask on  
And I will never need umbrellas in the rain   
I'll wake up in strawberry fields every day  
And the atrocities of school I can forgive  
The happy phantom has no right to bitch  
oo who  
The time is getting closer  
oo who  
Time to be a ghost  
oo who  
Every day we're getting closer  
The sun is geting dim  
Will we pay for who we been  
So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom  
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel  
They'll be my ticket to the universal opera  
There's Judy Garland taking Budda by the hand  
And then these seven little men get up to dance  
They say Confucius does his crossword with a pen  
I'm still the angel to a girl who hates to sin  
oo who  
The time is getting closer  
oo who  
Time to be a ghost  
oo who  
Every day we're getting closer  
The sun is geting dim  
Will we pay for who we been  
Or will I see you dear and wish I could come back  
You found a girl that you could truly love again  
WIll you still call for me when she falls asleep  
Or do we soon forget the things we cannot see  
oo who  
The time is getting closer  
oo who  
Time to be a ghost  
oo who  
Every day we're getting closer  
The sun is geting dim  
Will we pay for who we been_

_And if I die today...!_

_And if I die today...!_

_And if I die today...!_

_ah ah chasin' the nuns out in the yard..._

_Yeah la la la la la, la la la la la la la la..._

She finished the piece softly, then sat staring at the keys, waiting for a reaction from Erik. When it didn't come, she looked up at him.

He was standing there with the world's biggest grin on his face. His blue eyes glimmered as he stood there, shaking, then finally he burst out into laughter, bending over from it all. A little hurt, Tori reached out to him, but instead he swept her up and squeezed her as hard as he could, whispering into her hair.

"Tori, that was the most gorgeous thing I have ever heard. It describes me perfectly and, if anything, is absolutely hilarious!" He laughed again, ruffling her hair and giving her a kiss. Tori breathed out with relief, the hard work and sleepless nights finally paying off, just to see him happy.

Suddenly, he became still and released her.

She looked up into his eyes, questioning. He looked nervous, even timid, and he shifted his weight from foot to foot, hands behind his back and eyes glued to the ground. Finally he released his breath, which he had been holding ever since he had released her.

"Tori, I...oh God...I was saving this for a...a later time, but I just think it's appropriate now."

He silently knelt before her. Tori looked down upon him, a little part of her mind knowing exactly what it was that he was going to ask.

"Tori, will you marry me?"

xxXxXxx

**It's over.**

**That's it.**

**And this time, I'm not pulling a fast one on you. The story of Tori and Erik has just been wrapped up, before your very eyes. There might be a sequel popping up somewhere, and there's a 70 percent chance I'm going to appoint someone else to write it for me so that I don't overload myself with fluff. Yes, I know, the ending is very abrupt, but I just feel like it's wholeheartedly appropriate to stop it now. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone, from the people who stayed devoted to this story from beginning to end to the people who glanced at the first chapter and decided that they didn't want to read it! Kisses to all, and goodnight!**


End file.
